What are the Best Productivity Tools for Entrepreneurs?

EVERNOTE

The beauty of Evernote (which is available for free in Web, iOS and Android versions) is that it can be whatever you need it to be. Need a simple place to store notes or track thoughts as they occur? Evernote has you covered. Want to set up a complete David Allen-style “Getting Things Done (GTD)” environment inside the program? Evernote can do that too.

DROPBOX

As with Evernote, it probably isn’t a surprise to see Dropbox on a list of recommended productivity apps. The program’s value has been pretty well-established, all though chances are good that, even if you do have this program installed on your computer or mobile device, you still aren’t getting as much out of it as you could.

LASTPASS

In an age of digital insecurity, forming secure passwords is an absolute must – but who has time to remember all those different combinations of letters and numbers? If you struggle to keep your online accounts secure, Lastpass can help by generating, storing and automatically recalling strong passwords for all of your Internet logins. It’s free to use on both PCs and Macs, though you’ll pay $12/year to have the premium version available for download to your mobile device.

WUNDERLIST

If you’re a more graphically-inclined entrepreneur, take a look at Wunderlist – a perpetual favorite on lists of the best “to do” trackers. The program is easy to navigate and can be used to quickly and efficiently track important tasks from within its free desktop, Web, iOS and Android versions.

INSTAPAPER

Coming across interesting articles is one of the best parts of the Internet – and one of the worst things for your overall productivity levels. Instead of reading through new posts whenever you encounter them, save them to your Instapaper account. Your selected Web pages will be automatically saved for later browsing, when they’ll be displayed in a reading-friendly format for free on your computer, iPhone, iPad or Kindle.

FOCUSBOOSTER

Plenty of entrepreneurs use the Pomodoro Technique (which alternates 25-minute long working blocks with short breaks) in order to maintain sustainable, long-term productivity. And while there are plenty of different Pomodoro timers out there, one of my favorites is the Focusbooster App. It’s free to use and provides a simple way for business professionals to stay focused over long periods of time.

LEECH BLOCK

This is a Firefox add-on that allows you to lock down specified websites. It’s easily customized to suit your unique working habits, and even provides a helpful reminder to get back to work when you stray to one of your blocked sites.

YAST

Nearly all professionals can benefit from some type of time-tracking program – whether this type of tool is used to report billable hours back to customers or to simply measure how working hours are being spent. Yast provides an incredibly easy-to-use solution (just press the “Play” button to start tracking time to a specific account) that’s free to use for personal time tracking. Business accounts for entire teams are available as well, starting at $14/user per month.

RESCUETIME

RescueTime is a great tool that helps you keep track of the time you spend. You’ll just install the application on your computer and it will silently in the background keep track of your time – and you’ll quickly see if you’re productive or not.

RescueTime has been one of the best tools I’ve used in order to increase my productivity. I’ll quickly see if I’m productive or if I’m just wasting time.